


That's What You Get for Being Cocky, I'm Afraid

by Ignis_Sassentia



Series: FFXV Week 2017 [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Multi, OT4, Tumblr: ffxvweek, weapon swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 06:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11823123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignis_Sassentia/pseuds/Ignis_Sassentia
Summary: Gladio bets a night alone with Noctis that he can kill the most monsters with someone else's weapon and gets a bit more than he bargained for.





	That's What You Get for Being Cocky, I'm Afraid

**Author's Note:**

> For FFXVWeek, prompt: "I lost a bet."

“I bet I can still get the most kills using someone else’s weapon,” Gladiolus Amicitia said with a wicked smirk as they watched Noctis fish in the first lake they’d come upon since leaving Insomnia. 

They’d been counting monster kills for days, just for something to break up the monotony of traveling through the Leide desert. Gladio knew he had a comfortable lead, and he wasn’t above suggesting something to make the game a little more entertaining. 

Prompto shoved him lightly. “You can’t make a bet without telling us what we’re betting for, Big Guy.” 

Ignis scrolled over whatever he was reading on his phone and hummed in agreement. 

Gladio laughed loudly enough that Noct shot him a disgruntled look and the Shield quickly stifled his mirth. “Okay, okay. How about this? Whoever gets the most kills using someone else’s weapon of choice gets Noct to himself for a night. The losers have to sleep outside.” 

“And how do you propose we decide who uses which weaponry?” Ignis asked mildly without looking up from his screen. 

“We could draw lots?” Prompto suggested. He picked up a small stone, made to throw it into the lake, then thought better of it and started turning it over in his hands instead. 

No one wanted to upset Noctis while he was fishing, after all. 

Gladio shrugged easily. “Could just pick the things we think we’d be worst at. Like giving Prompto my broadsword. I doubt you could even lift it properly.” 

“See if I ever kiss  _ you _ again,” Prompto grumbled, shooting the Shield a half-hearted glare. “I could totally do it.” 

“Yeah?” Gladio poked him in the side, amused and pleased by the startled squeak it got him. “Want to give it a shot tomorrow?” 

Prompto stuck his tongue out at Gladio in answer. 

“What weapon would you use, Gladio?” Ignis asked. He finally glanced up from whatever he was doing on his phone, green eyes sparkling behind the lenses of his glasses. “You’re proficient with most types of longer blades.” 

“Let him use your daggers, Iggy,” Prompto suggested, a little too enthusiastically. “I’d love to see him have to sneak up on something instead of just whacking at it.” 

Ignis’ mouth turned down thoughtfully and he hummed quietly. “That does seem like an appropriate challenge. In that case, Prompto, would you lend me something of yours?” 

“He’s not allowed to use the guns,” Gladio put in firmly. “His aim’s too good.” 

“The chainsaw, then.” Ignis pocketed his phone. “The only machinery I’m truly adept with is the cookstove, to be frank.” 

Gladio nodded and grinned at his boyfriends. “You’re on. I’m gonna wipe the ground with you both.” 

Prompto rolled his eyes. 

“We’ll see about that.” Ignis smiled, that special smile he only used when he was contemplating a new, exciting mental challenge. He glanced to Prompto. “Would you mind giving me a primer on the saw while His Highness enjoys his afternoon?” 

Prompto grinned and jumped up, grabbing Ignis’ hand. “Sure thing! Let’s go.” 

“If you’re practicing, at least let me handle one of those daggers,” Gladio protested, hoisting himself to his feet. 

“Would you guys  _ please _ shut up?” Noctis called over his shoulder as he prepped his reel to cast again. “Some of us are trying to fish here!” 

Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis glanced at each other for a moment before they all burst out laughing, much to their prince’s dismay. 

 

They camped at a nearby Haven that night and spent a good portion of the evening practicing with each other’s weapons, which earned them several confused looks from Noctis. 

“What the hell, guys?” Noct asked the third time Gladio nearly sliced himself adjusting his grip on Ignis’ daggers. “Are you all trying to kill yourselves?” 

Prompto laughed, letting Gladio’s broadsword hit the dirt with a thump. “We made a--” 

“Made a decision that we needed some remedial training with other types of weapons,” Ignis interrupted, giving Prompto a sharp look. 

Gladio nearly kissed him right then and there. He and Ignis had made bets for Noctis’ time before and had come to the agreement early on that they needed to keep that information from the prince, or else Noct would never play along. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized they’d never made one of those bets with Prompto before, so the sharpshooter had no idea about the unspoken rule. 

Noctis didn’t look terribly convinced. “Uh huh. And why did you think this was a good idea, exactly? Prom looks like he’s about to fall over.” 

“I’m not!” Prompto assured chipperly. 

Ignis sighed and carefully set down the circular saw beside the broadsword, neither weapon dispersing just yet. “We’re your guards, Noct. There may come a time when our own weapons become unusable, or circumstances demand we utilize something we’re less familiar with. It only makes sense to be proficient with as many arms as possible.” 

Noctis studied his boyfriends for a long moment before rolling his eyes and flopping back in his camp chair, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Whatever. Just don’t die. Please. I need  _ someone _ to play  _ King’s Knight _ with.” 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s the only reason you want us around,” Gladio teased, laughter in his voice. He handed the daggers to Ignis and wrapped his hand around the hilt of his broadsword, hefting it off the ground to let it disappear in a flash of blue light. 

“What level are you playing?” Prompto dispersed the chainsaw and skipped over to Noct, pulling out his own phone on the way. 

Ignis brushed Gladio’s elbow with his fingers as he crossed toward the camp kitchen, silently beckoning for Gladio to accompany him. Once they stood by the little collapsible stove, their backs to Prompto and Noct as Ignis heated water for dinner, the thinner man muttered, “this bet may be ill-advised, Gladio.” 

“Worried about Prom?” Gladio asked in an undertone, automatically moving to start chopping vegetables. “He’ll be fine. Better than fine. Can’t get himself hurt if he can’t even get into the battle.” 

“I’m more concerned that we’ll be so engrossed in our own problems that Noct might get hurt.” Ignis sighed. He dug up an onion and handed it over. “Cubed, if you don’t mind.” 

Gladio grunted in agreement. Why the hell could he handle a kitchen knife decently but nearly put out an eye the moment he tried to use Ignis’ daggers? They weren’t that different, damn it! “We’ll be fine, Iggy. Noct can hold his own, and it’s not like any of the hunts we’ve taken so far were  _ that _ hard. You’ve got plenty of potions, don’t you?” 

“I’d prefer not to waste them because you got competitive and overly-ambitious,” Ignis said dryly, not even glancing in Gladio’s direction. 

Gladio snorted and started to chop the onion. “We’ll pick something small and weak. Like a tiny pack of voretooths or something.” 

Ignis sighed in exasperation. “You know, there are easier ways to get Noct’s undivided attention.” 

“Yeah, but they’re not nearly as much fun.” Gladio laughed and slid the chopped vegetables over to Ignis, who simply rolled his eyes, adjusted his glasses, and continued cooking. 

 

They tracked down a small herd of sabertusks the next morning. The daggers felt entirely took small and light in Gladio’s hands as they engaged the monsters in battle. Despite the practice from the night before, his movements were still slow and clumsy, trained for the broadsword. Unfortunately, the broadsword was a completely different fighting style. He had to get far closer to the monsters than he was used to, and one of them got a good, deep slash across his chest. 

“Gladio!” Noctis threw him a potion and a glare. “Get your act together, man!” 

The roar of the circular saw nearly drowned out the admonishment as Ignis struggled to keep it under control. 

Prompto screamed something unintelligible as he swung the broadsword haplessly, arms visibly straining to keep it aloft. 

Noct cursed and warped to Ignis’ side. 

Another sabertusk pounced on Gladio, biting hard into his shoulder. 

The Shield snarled in return and jammed Ignis’ daggers into the beast’s sides. 

It shrieked and jumped away, but was still very much alive. 

Until it came into contact with a haphazard swing from the broadsword and went flying. Gladio was pretty sure that killed it. 

Noctis warped across the battle, making his displeasure incredibly clear with cursing and glowers as he tossed curatives to his boyfriends. 

Finally, the prince dispatched the last monster and all four of them collapsed in a circle in the dirt to recover. 

“That was the worst fight ever,” Noctis proclaimed breathlessly as he handed Prompto one more potion. “Can you just go back to your normal weapons and never do that again? Ever?” 

Prompto laughed uncomfortably as he crushed the fragile bottle over the gash on his leg. “Yeah, that sounds good. I miss my guns, man.” 

“What’s the body count?” Gladio asked instead of agreeing. He leaned back, wincing as he put weight on his wounded shoulder. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the tally. After all, he hadn’t even managed to fully take down a single monster. “I got nothing.” 

“Neither did I,” Ignis admitted with a sigh, gingerly bandaging the fingers he’d burned on the machinery. “I fear Noct did most of the killing this time around.” 

“I got one,” Prompto chirped with a hesitant little grin, like he couldn’t quite believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. “No, wait...two. I got two.” 

Gladio straightened and stared at his younger boyfriend. 

Prompto’s arms were shaking with the previous exertion of swinging around the broadsword that much, but his grin widened with every heartbeat and he spread his hands wide. “I guess that means I won the bet, huh?” 

“Won what bet?” Noctis asked, a slight accusatory edge to his voice. 

Prompto’s smile immediately faded into wide-eyed guilt and he shot Ignis and Gladio an apologetic glance. “Uh. You know, the...uh...the bet about killing monsters?” 

Ignis sighed and pulled his glasses off, studiously cleaning them with a handkerchief from his pocket. 

“Prom,” Noctis said, giving Prompto a firm look. “Come on, man. Tell me the truth.” 

Gladio groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. Might as well come clean. Maybe saving Prompto’s ass would make the gunman grateful enough not to actually kick him out of the tent tonight. Probably not, but worth a shot. “We bet on who could get the most kills with someone else’s arms. Winner gets a night alone with you.” 

Noct blinked, then coughed self-consciously, a blush creeping across his cheeks. “Hey, Specs, should I be flattered or offended here?” 

Ignis made an odd little choking noise as he tried to stifle a laugh. “Flattered, Your Highness. Definitely flattered.” 

“Looks like it’s me and you tonight, buddy,” Prompto crowed as he draped an arm over Noct’s shoulders. Then he laughed. “Though, to be honest, I don’t know if I’m even gonna be able to move after that.” 

“Give it a couple hours,” Gladio grumbled with a shrug. “And remind me to run you through some upper-body drills later.” 

Prompto groaned, dropping his head onto Noct’s shoulder. “Seriously?” 

“Trust me, you’ll thank me later.” 

“For now, might I suggest we return to the Haven to rest up?” Ignis slipped his glasses back onto his nose, glanced around at his boyfriends, and sighed. “I’ll make lunch.” 

Noct and Prompto nodded and helped each other to their feet, nearly dragging each other back to the ground out of sheer exhaustion once or twice. 

Gladio wasn’t much better, but he managed to pull himself up on his own, then helped Ignis up as well. As they started stumbling back toward the Haven, he leaned close to Ignis and muttered, “can’t believe I lost the damn bet.” 

Ignis snorted delicately. “That’s what you get for being cocky, I’m afraid.” 

“You’ll keep me warm, though, right?” Gladio slipped an arm around Ignis’ waist and pulled him closer. 

“You’re incorrigible,” Ignis muttered, a chuckle in his voice. He pressed a quick kiss to Gladio’s cheek, then slipped out of his embrace and sped his steps to catch up with Noct and Prompto, tossing over his shoulder, “I will if you beat me to the Haven.” 

Grumbling under his breath, Gladio took off, unwilling to lose two bets in one day. 


End file.
